Proposed changes to UMC governance come under criticism

Commissioners, after a lengthy discussion at their Wednesday meeting, decided to put off a vote until Dec. 5 on a measure that would send a proposal for changing oversight at the county-owned University Medical Center to the 2013 Legislature. Among other things, the proposal would allow the newly formed board to have its strategic meetings behind closed doors. Union members who work at the county-owned hospital told commissioners the secrecy of the would-be hospital board is wrong. They also worried aloud that the move was a step toward privatizing the hospital. Two people who said they represented the Latino community said having the meetings closed "would not let our constituents know what is going on."